Playing hosts to the future

Take your seats on College Green, boys and girls. The circus is on its way to town. This past Wednesday, the admissions office mailed out acceptance letters to potential members of the Class of 2005. That means that beginning this weekend, high school seniors from around the country are going to start descending upon Locust Walk and the Quad, entrenched in one of the most important decision-making processes of their lives. So what does this matter to the rest of us, aside from more slow-moving foot traffic plowing awkwardly down Locust Walk, pointing at buildings and trying not to look like tourists? Whether we realize it or not, the kids (and their parents) who are coming to investigate Penn need to see what's going on. To them, the minutia of our everyday lives -- going to class, falling asleep in Rosengarten Reserve while studying, hitting up happy hour at L.T.'s after our last recitation for the week -- creates a cross-section of what college life here is really like. For most of us, the only pre-frosh we'll ever see are the ones who applied from our high schools. But regardless, whether you know it or not -- those parents and pre-frosh are watching you. They watch you ditch class to hang out on the Green, they watch you promoting your performing arts group on Locust Walk, they watch you run disheveled to the class that started five minutes ago. These people are like sponges -- they just want to soak up as much information about Penn as they can before they move to the next stop on their tours of the elite schools of the Northeast. Once again, you're asking: so what? The odds of me talking to a pre-frosh are non-existent, and I'm not going to stop living my life because these people are trying to learn about the college experience by observing me. But you never know what may happen in the three-ring circus that is Penn Previews. Watch as your hall in the Quad overflows with pre-frosh staying over for the night. Get caught off-guard when, as you're drinking your latte from Xando and reading your copy of the DP, a father drags his embarrassed kids over to your table to ask you "a few questions" (the equivalent of cross-examination by Johnny Cochrane). My personal take on the spontaneous interrogation -- along with any other interactions you may have with pre-frosh and parents of pre-frosh -- is to be honest. In this situation, Penn positions itself as a business trying to project the best competitive image. So does every other school that these kids got into. Talking to random students on the Walk may be one of the few ways that they get a glimpse as to what it really means to be a Penn student. Believe me, Smoke's, Billybob's and Beige Block are not stops on the tour. Even if you never realize that there are pre-frosh on campus, be aware that there are a large number of people who do. The members of Kite and Key spend a ridiculous amount of time putting together Penn Previews every year, and running the entire operation on a volunteer basis requires a lot of commitment from a lot of people. You remember what it was like when you took "the tour." Showing thousands of kids and their "concerned" parents around this campus takes a lot more patience than one would expect. This time of year is one of the most important for those high school seniors, as well as for this campus. Whether we think it affects us or not, the future of the University is determined by the students who choose to come here. And if we have individual impact on that, we should take advantage of it. If you want to really contribute to Penn Previews -- do something. Chill on the Green in between (or instead of) classes. When your group promotes itself on Locust Walk, stand behind the table. Should those pre-frosh show up on your hall, take five minutes, introduce yourself and tell them a little bit about your Penn experience honestly (yes, even tell them if you think Penn sucks and you hate it). Many of us take pride in and enjoy our Penn experience, and something as simple as making campus seem alive can relate that to pre-frosh. So go outside, take your seats. The Circus will be here soon.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.